Group Summit Climbs

Treks, Tours, & Backpacking

Alpine Climbing and Mountaineering Courses

Skills for Climbing in All Mountain Terrains and Conditions

"Alpine climbing" refers to mountain climbing in its most classic form. An alpine climber uses a wide range of techniques to gain a summit, often carrying the bare minimum of technical gear, and relying instead on a deep skill base, adaptability, and good decision making. The courses listed here emphasize the multi-disciplinary character of alpine climbing, teaching a combination of rock climbing, ice climbing, snow skills, and glacier travel, or all of the above.

Alpine Climbing & Mountaineering

Skills for Climbing in All Mountain Terrains and Conditions

A mock victim savors the cool atmosphere of a crevasse in the Coleman Glacier while his rescuers devise a Z-pulley. Dylan Taylor

This 3-day course is a thorough introduction to the bare minimum skills necessary to climb glaciated peaks in a party led by a more seasoned climber. Though the course is designed as a cost-effective introduction, it is also popular with experienced leaders as a refresher course. Continual improvement of our curriculum insures that this course is a good way to keep up with the state of the art.

This course provides a general introduction to the sport of mountain climbing, including one day of rock climbing and five days on Mt. Baker for a thorough introduction to glacier travel, crevasse rescue, self-arrest, and movement on snow and ice. The course culminates with a climb of Mt. Baker.

Location:Mt. Baker, Washington

Season:May - September

Length:6 days

Cost:$1190

An AAI group on the Quien Sabe Glacier on Sahale Peak in the North Cascades. AAI Collection

This course provides a thorough introduction to alpine rock climbing at a moderate standard. If you have a good grounding in glacier travel and crevasse rescue, take this course to raise your skills to the intermediate level while climbing a series of spectacular North Cascades alpine summits such as South Early Winter Spire, Liberty Bell, Eldorado Peak, and Mt. Shuksan. Taken together with Alpinism 1, this course is the rough equivalent of our Alpine Mountaineering and Technical Leadership, Part 1.

The first course offered by AAI in 1975, this intensive program provides thorough instruction in all the skills required on difficult alpine ice climbs. Through this curriculum, you will develop a complete repertoire of state-of-the-art high-angle snow and ice climbing skills and learn to apply them efficiently in all conditions. All of this instruction is located in America's top glacier training area, the Coleman Glacier of Mt. Baker.

Location:North Cascades, WA

Season:May - September

Length:6 Days

Cost:$1250

Rope teams using two-tool technique as they near the exit of the V-Notch Couloir. Michael Powers

Alpine ice persists year-round in many shaded couloirs in the high Sierra. These gullies make perfect outdoor classrooms for teaching alpine ice climbing, one of the fundamental skills of the mountaineer. This introduction will prepare you for any alpine ice you would encounter in the Sierras and give you a solid base for climbing on larger glaciers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.

Location:Eastern Sierra Nevada, California

Season:June - September

Length:6 Days

Cost:$1590 (2:1 Ratio); $2100 (1:1 Ratio)

Climbers nearing the summit of Sahale Peak, with Sharkfin Tower and Boston Peak in the background. Gerry Chike

Men's Journal calls AAI's four-part mountain leadership program "the country's most respected and thorough rock and mountaineering course." Part one of the series introduces glacier skills and alpine rock climbing at a moderate difficulty level. After training on the Easton Glacier, we normally summit Mount Baker, make ascents in the Washington Pass area, and conclude with a student-led ascent of a major North Cascades summit.

Location:North Cascades, WA

Season:May - September

Length:12 days

Cost:$2190

Climbers near the summit of Forbidden Peak, on the West Ridge route. Bryan Feinstein

Part 2 of AAI’s four-part mountain leadership series introduces rock and alpine ice leadership skills. We then put those skills to the test on student-led ascents of the challenging peaks around Boston Basin, such as Forbidden Peak and Sharkfin Tower, and on an alpine ice climb on the massive glaciers of Mount Baker.

Part 3 of AAI’s alpine leadership curriculum introduces advanced alpine skills and expedition planning. Students co-lead a significant expedition to Washington’s remote Pickett Range or to British Columbia’s Bugaboos, or a major ski-mountaineering traverse in the North Cascades.

The final part of AAI’s alpine leadership series calls on all the skills acquired in the first three parts as we mount an expedition to attempt significant ascents in one of two remote locations: either the Coast Range of British Columbia for an ascent of 13,186-ft. Mt. Waddington, or Little Switzerland in the Alaska Range.

Location:Coast Range, BC or Alaska Range

Season:June - July

Length:12 days

Cost:$4350

A climber on the Swiss Arete of Mount Sill in the Palisade region of the Eastern Sierra. AAI Collection

Learn the fundamentals of alpine rock climbing in the Sierra Nevada Range. This dramatic range has a variety of rock faces, rock ridges, and high summits that make it an excellent training ground on which to acquire the skills of general mountaineering on rock. In this introductory course, we take advantage of all that the Sierra has to offer, practicing on a wide variety of terrain in order to create an excellent foundation for climbing skills.

Like our well-known Alpine Mountaineering and Technical Leadership - Part 1, this course introduces snow, ice, and alpine rock climbing skills at a moderate difficulty level. Participants learn fundamentals of snow climbing in the non-glaciated setting of the Eastern Sierra, then focus on alpine rock and ice while tackling major routes such as the Swiss Arete on Mt. Sill (14,153) and the U-Notch Couloir on North Palisade (14,242').

Our complete Winter Mountaineering Course is divided into 3 parts, water ice climbing, winter mountaineering, and backcountry skiing. Participants can take one or all parts over one or several seasons.

An adventurous introduction to big mountain expeditions, you'll learn the climbing skills and techniques used in modern alpine mountaineering and earn the opportunity to climb several beautiful peaks in the heart of the Alaska Range. Prepare for Denali or other major climbs around the world.

Take your outdoor photography skills to the next level with our four day photography course that also climbs Mount Baker! Along with photography, you will learn glacier travel and basic mountaineering skills on one of the alpine giants of North America.